Wingman
by Celeste6
Summary: How Danny gives advice: beer, stories, and an 80s movie reference. Which might be exactly what Catherine needs right now.


Author's note: I forgot I had started this story ages ago (and it's one of those backwards stories where I came up with the last line of dialogue first), and then I spent way too much time trying to polish it. Since my goal is to write more - and more importantly send these little words out into the ether - here it is. Set sometime during 4.6 (Kupouli'la).

Disclaimer: Definitely not mine. Just borrowing them for a bit.

Catherine sat at the table in front of Kamekona's truck, waiting on Steve and Danny to arrive. Fingers tapped restlessly on the wood as she tried to calm her thoughts. Steve had suggested a group dinner, but she'd asked for a quiet evening instead. She just wanted to sit in the sun and pretend that everything was okay.

The Camaro pulled up and parked. Catherine looked up and smiled automatically at the person getting out of the driver's side, surprised when it was actually the car's owner.

Danny walked to the table, hands raised in a sort of shrug. "Sorry to disappoint you, babe. I, too, am shocked that I got drive my car."

"No, Danny, I'm sorry." Catherine shook her head. "It's just been a bad week, and I was looking forward to seeing Steve."

Danny nodded. "He's on his way. We were headed out when he got a call from the Governor."

"A case?"

Danny grinned. "He wishes. Budget stuff." He spread his hands. "I love my job."

Catherine laughed in spite of herself. "In that case, you're buying the first round, Mr. Gainfully Employed."

"For you, anything." He turned and waved at Kamekona as he walked to the truck.

"Howzit, Danny," Kamekona said. He leaned down to the window and said softly, "She seems sad."

"Yeah, losing a partner will do that." He put a hand on the edge of the window. "Can I get a couple of beers?"

The big man studied Danny as he reached for two glass bottles, took the caps off, and then handed them out. "Know something about that, do you?" Danny nodded and handed a couple of bills in. Kamekona nodded back. "Okay then."

Danny gave him a small smile, recognizing that as their friend's way of saying they wouldn't be disturbed while they talked. He walked back to the table, holding the two bottles, and set one down in front of Catherine. He sat and picked up his bottle, holding it out in a toast. "To getting through bad weeks."

Catherine clinked her bottle against his and took a long drink, then sat the bottle back on the table. Danny studied her as she looked down, drumming her fingers against the bottle. "How you doing?"

She looked up and smiled absently. "I'm fine." She shrugged. "Not the best week, but I'm managing."

"You want to talk about it?" Danny asked.

"That's okay, Danny. There's not really anything to talk about."

"Bullshit," he said mildly.

Catherine looked up and raised her eyebrows. Danny looked back at her levelly. "I'm fine, really. I just need to get through this."

"And again, I call bullshit."

"Danny, it's not the first time I've been on a mission where someone has died. We're trained for this."

"Cath, how many people have you lost while serving?"

She thought a moment before answering, even though she knew without thinking. "Four team members, three others from missions I was on. Several I knew from around base."

"Were any of them lost when it was just you the two of you?"

She shook her head. "No."

Danny drank from the bottle, taking his time, gathering his words. "It's a special kind of hell, losing a partner. What should I have done differently - not what could I have done, because you're always sure there's something you could have done - but what mistake did you make that your partner paid for."

Catherine looked at him, finally meeting his gaze, tears welling up in her eyes. "I screwed up, Danny."

"No, you didn't."

She laughed mirthlessly. "You weren't there."

"No, but I read the report. You were well-prepared for the call you were on, and prepared for contingencies for that case. You and Billy stepped up when you saw a bad guy with a gun. You might have called it in, but things moved too fast. You didn't have time." She stared at him for a moment and then hung her head. Danny realized he wasn't getting through to her yet. "Steve's told you the story about my partner Grace, right?" He knew the couple didn't keep anything from each other, and Steve would have told Catherine as a way to help him process this side of his partner.

Catherine nodded. Danny looked down, collecting his thoughts, then looked up and said, "Nobody knew where Grace and I were. We didn't call for backup before we went into that damned warehouse. I should have called it in. She should have called it in. And she paid for that mistake with her life." His voice got thick, remembering. "A good cop died and not a day goes by that I don't think I should have done something differently." He cleared his throat. "But Grace would kick my ass if I didn't learn from it and move on."

"You think I should just move on?" Catherine asked bitterly.

"No," Danny said patiently. "Not just. But Billy is gone, and you don't honor him by getting stuck. You honor him by getting back in the game. You learn and you remember and, yes, you move forward.

Catherine thought for a long moment. Finally she looked at Danny. "I don't know what to do now." She shook her head. "The Navy was…. more than a job. And working with Billy would have been comfortable and challenging. I don't need comfortable, but I do need challenging." She shrugged. "I don't know what I should do."

"Do what you're good at. You know how to look at information and find the pieces that tell the right story. You know how to chase leads and how to choose which ones to follow. You do fieldwork and analysis, plus you know the tech. In this field, that's a hat trick."

Catherine tilted her head and gave Danny a questioning look. "This field?"

He smiled. "Yeah. Same function, different customer." He took another drink from his bottle and leveled another look at her. "Just because the job ended doesn't mean the work did."

She stared off into the distance, absently peeling the label from her bottle. Finally she looked up at him for a long moment. Danny looked back, waiting patiently for her question. Softly, she asked, "Do the nightmares ever go away?"

Danny pursed his lips and leaned back slightly. "No. They change. Sometimes they suck worse. But eventually they get - I don't know if better is the right word - but they get easier to bear." He cocked his head to the side and shrugged. "And then you feel guilty, because that means you're not thinking about it."

"Great." She shook her head. "Thanks. That's… not comforting at all."

He huffed a small laugh, and nodded. "And then you realize - at some point - that it's okay that you're not thinking about it. That you're thinking more about the good memories than the bad one."

Catherine closed her eyes and breathed out in a long, quiet sigh. She opened her eyes again. "Thanks, Danny."

"Any time." She nodded and gave him a small smile. He shook his head and tapped her bottle with his own to get her full attention. "I mean it. Any. Time." He raised his eyebrows, daring her to contradict him. She smiled again, and this time it reached her eyes.

Danny smiled back, and then turned at the sound of Steve's truck behind him. He looked back at Catherine and the smile changed to a grin. "Either the governor is happy, or I'll be dealing with budget issues tomorrow." He stood and picked up his half-empty bottle. "Either way, I'm betting he's going to need one of these." He raised his bottle in a half salute at her and turned, walking back to the food truck window.

Catherine shook her head at Danny and then looked down, gathering up the tiny pieces of peeled label, smashing them into a ball, thinking about Danny's advice. The work was the important part and she could still do the work - that fit with what Steve had said.

She felt Steve's hand on her shoulder, and looked up at him. He studied her for a moment, then dropped a quick kiss on her cheek, not needing to ask how she was doing. He sat down next to her, nudged her with his shoulder, and sighed. "I guess I should be happy that my partner likes you, even if he does like you better than he does me."

Catherine, startled, laughed. "How do you know he likes me better?"

"He buys you beer without complaining."

"Hey," Danny said sharply, dropping a bottle in front of Steve.

Steve looked up. "For me?"

"In gratitude that I don't have to meet with the governor tomorrow." Steve gave him a puzzled look and Danny laughed. "We all have work we're good at, and fortunately for me, my friend, you are good at the administrivia that keeps our little team working."

Steve looked at Catherine. "Told you he likes you better. Doesn't need a reason to buy you a beer."

Danny rolled his eyes. "No surprise there."

Steve waved at Danny standing and then at the table bench. "You staying? Or are you just buying me one beer and leaving?"

"Grace called. Her practice ended early - she's catching a ride with a friend, but I'd like to be there when she gets home."

Catherine smiled when Steve nodded seriously at his partner. "Tell Grace hi for me." She held Danny's eyes for a moment. "And thanks again."

He nodded at her and clapped Steve on the shoulder. "Don't keep him out late, okay? The governor might call again tomorrow and I don't want him to be cranky." Steve swatted at the hand on his shoulder and Danny stepped back out of reach. "See? Cranky." He turned and walked two steps before turning back.

"Catherine?" Danny stuck his hands in his pockets and looked at her for a moment. "To borrow a quote from a movie that I suspect you have a fondness for, even if you like aquamen better than flyboys, you'll find another partner. And if you don't, give me a call. I'll fly with you."

He waited until she smiled and nodded, then turned and walked off, waving once over his shoulder.


End file.
